Getting Her Priorities Straight
by leviohhsa
Summary: Hermione finds it hard to focus on their hunt for the Dark Lord's horcruxes after Ron leaves. She must come to terms with her feelings and admit to herself that maybe she should tell Ron how she really feels before it's too late.
1. There's Something Missing

Chapter 1

The room felt so empty to Hermione with just her and Harry silently flipping through the countless books she had packed. She wracked her brain for any idea of what the next horcrux could be, but the only thing she could think of was his red hair, his array of freckles, and his dark green eyes. _Stop it, Hermione, you can do this, _She argued with herself. She felt Harry's concerned eyes glancing at her between every page turn. Ron's absence filled the air and all Hermione could do was to read and reread the same sentence over and over again, "_Horcruxes generally are made with objects that the maker associates with themselves or are likewise to something of importance…" _

After the fifth time through, Hermione slammed the book shut. Harry jumped from the sudden noise and stared wide-eyed up at her.

"Hermione? Are you ok-?"

"NO, HARRY! I'M NOT. WE HAVE SO MUCH TO DO AND RON JUST GETS UP AND LEAVES. DOESN'T HE REALIZE THAT THIS IS SO MUCH BIGGER THAN US?"

"Look, just sit down, okay? I, er, I know, what he did was wrong. He can be such a git sometimes, but we have to just focus." Harry said wearily.

Hermione knew that Harry was wearing thin. He was under much more stress than she and she felt guilty for unloading so much on him so suddenly. She sighed heavily and sat down. Harry looked at her quizzically.

"This isn't about looking for horcruxes is it?" he asked knowingly.

Hermione ignored his smugness, "I-I don't know. I just, I really wish he would have stayed."

"I know how you feel about him, Hermione. I've known for years. You both are just so stubborn and would rather bicker about Snape's Potions lesson than actually talk about anything serious."

"If how I felt was that obvious, how could he leave?" Hermione whimpered.

"His pride gets the best of him sometimes. I'm sure he's regretting it already." Harry said comfortingly.

"Maybe."

Hermione opened a new book and began searching its Index. As she scanned the columns of complicated topics, her thoughts backtracked to Ron. She missed him. Feeling this way about him scared her more than any death eater, dementor, or Dark Lord ever could. Hermione knew she was smart. She knew she was exceptional at most subjects that young wizards study at Hogwarts. But, no matter how many Potions exams or Herbology essays she did well on, she could not for the life her understand love.

Growing up, she watched other kids in her year develop "crushes" and saw them snogging in the back of the Leaky Cauldron between bottles of butterbeer. She saw Harry ogle as Cho walked by and Ron's face turn red when a pretty girl would talk to him. Other girls would joke and ask Hermione how her boyfriends were, for she hardly hung around with anyone but Harry and Ron. At the time, Harry was far too concerned with anything but Sirius Black's recent escape from Azkaban. Even if his third year had been much more uneventful, Hermione had a feeling he would be enthralled with flirting with Cho.

Hermione didn't really notice her feelings for Ron until their fourth year. She didn't understand them because they seemed to have arose from nowhere. Looking back now, she can clearly see herself slowly falling in love with him. However, feeling as though Ron didn't have the slightest interest in return, she let Viktor Krum take her to the Yule Ball. When she said yes to his invitation, part of her knew she was only doing it to show Ron that she didn't need him, that she was capable of finding someone else. However, as the year came closer to an end and Cedric's death shook the students of Hogwarts, Hermione knew how she truly felt. She knew that the events of the final challenge of the Triwizard Tournament would make it an inappropriate time to discuss such small matters. The trio now knew that the Dark Lord was back and he wasn't going away again without a fight. It hardly seemed the right time to discuss a feeling she thought she had.

Years later Hermione still hadn't told Ron. She told herself that there was no room for love or mixed feelings during these dark times. After their fourth year, things got worse. She knew that that if she could prevent the rupture of a friendship, she would do everything she could to do so. The hardest out of all the times in her life, was watching Ron's relationship with Lavender. She didn't speak to Ron for weeks and when she finally worked up the courage to, she walked in on him snogging Lavender. So, instead of following her heart, Hermione desperately deserted her feelings and focused on the tasks at hand. However, now that Ron was gone, she was starting to realize how much she needed him.

Hermione stood up and picked up her bag, "I have to find him."

Harry was startled by her sudden movement and was at a loss for words, for usually, she was the rational one.

"Hermione, you can't do that. You know how dangerous it is out there."

"That's why I have to go. If… if something happens to him, he'll never know. Harry, I can't just sit here and think about all of my missed chances. This makes no sense and for once in my life I don't have a plan, I just know he has to know."

She started towards the door, wand in hand.

"Hermione, please don't go! He wouldn't want you to risk your life and as idiotic as he seems right now, he's pretty smart. He'll get home safely. I know how you feel. Ginny is always in my head and I have no idea what she's doing or how she is. We just have to hope, and Merlin's beard, do I hope that's enough."

Hermione let her bag drop to the floor and blankly stared at it, evidently thinking. Could she do it? Could she sit here, not knowing if Ron was okay? She knew Harry was right, she can't act irrational; it would be much too dangerous. Harry pulled her back to the chair and looked at her frantically, waiting for her to finally speak.

She sighed, "Okay, I'll stay."

Harry let out a small smile and gave her a hug.

"When'd you get so reasonable, anyhow? I used to be the one stopping you and Ron from going through with all your idiotic antics." She said, with a slight smile.

The tension lifted a bit around them, but, hearing Ron's name aloud, made something inside Hermione flip.

Harry shrugged and laughed a little, "I learned from the best."


	2. Christmas Eve at Godric's Hollow

Chapter 1

The room felt so empty to Hermione with just her and Harry silently flipping through the countless books she had packed. She wracked her brain for any idea of what the next horcrux could be, but the only thing she could think of was his red hair, his array of freckles, and his dark green eyes. _Stop it, Hermione, you can do this, _She argued with herself. She felt Harry's concerned eyes glancing at her between every page turn. Ron's absence filled the air and all Hermione could do was to read and reread the same sentence over and over again, "_Horcruxes generally are made with objects that the maker associates with themselves or are likewise to something of importance…" _

After the fifth time through, Hermione slammed the book shut. Harry jumped from the sudden noise and stared wide-eyed up at her.

"Hermione? Are you ok-?"

"NO, HARRY! I'M NOT. WE HAVE SO MUCH TO DO AND RON JUST GETS UP AND LEAVES. DOESN'T HE REALIZE THAT THIS IS SO MUCH BIGGER THAN US?"

"Look, just sit down, okay? I, er, I know, what he did was wrong. He can be such a git sometimes, but we have to just focus." Harry said wearily.

Hermione knew that Harry was wearing thin. He was under much more stress than she and she felt guilty for unloading so much on him so suddenly. She sighed heavily and sat down. Harry looked at her quizzically.

"This isn't about looking for horcruxes is it?" he asked knowingly.

Hermione ignored his smugness, "I-I don't know. I just, I really wish he would have stayed."

"I know how you feel about him, Hermione. I've known for years. You both are just so stubborn and would rather bicker about Snape's Potions lesson than actually talk about anything serious."

"If how I felt was that obvious, how could he leave?" Hermione whimpered.

"His pride gets the best of him sometimes. I'm sure he's regretting it already." Harry said comfortingly.

"Maybe."

Hermione opened a new book and began searching its Index. As she scanned the columns of complicated topics, her thoughts backtracked to Ron. She missed him. Feeling this way about him scared her more than any death eater, dementor, or Dark Lord ever could. Hermione knew she was smart. She knew she was exceptional at most subjects that young wizards study at Hogwarts. But, no matter how many Potions exams or Herbology essays she did well on, she could not for the life her understand love.

Growing up, she watched other kids in her year develop "crushes" and saw them snogging in the back of the Leaky Cauldron between bottles of butterbeer. She saw Harry ogle as Cho walked by and Ron's face turn red when a pretty girl would talk to him. Other girls would joke and ask Hermione how her boyfriends were, for she hardly hung around with anyone but Harry and Ron. At the time, Harry was far too concerned with anything but Sirius Black's recent escape from Azkaban. Even if his third year had been much more uneventful, Hermione had a feeling he would be enthralled with flirting with Cho.

Hermione didn't really notice her feelings for Ron until their fourth year. She didn't understand them because they seemed to have arisen from nowhere. Looking back now, she can clearly see herself slowly falling in love with him. However, feeling as though Ron didn't have the slightest interest in return, she let Viktor Krum take her to the Yule Ball. When she said yes to his invitation, part of her knew she was only doing it to show Ron that she didn't need him, that she was capable of finding someone else. However, as the year came closer to an end and Cedric's death shook the students of Hogwarts, Hermione knew how she truly felt. She knew that the events of the final challenge of the Triwizard Tournament would make it an inappropriate time to discuss such small matters. The trio now knew that the Dark Lord was back and he wasn't going away again without a fight. It hardly seemed the right time to discuss a feeling she thought she had.

Years later Hermione still hadn't told Ron. She told herself that there was no room for love or mixed feelings during these dark times. After their fourth year, things got worse. She knew that that if she could prevent the rupture of a friendship, she would do everything she could to do so. The hardest out of all the times in her life, was watching Ron's relationship with Lavender. She didn't speak to Ron for weeks and when she finally worked up the courage to, she walked in on him snogging Lavender. So, instead of following her heart, Hermione desperately deserted her feelings and focused on the tasks at hand. However, now that Ron was gone, she was starting to realize how much she needed him.

Hermione stood up and picked up her bag, "I have to find him."

Harry was startled by her sudden movement and was at a loss for words, for usually, she was the rational one.

"Hermione, you can't do that. You know how dangerous it is out there."

"That's why I have to go. If… if something happens to him, he'll never know. Harry, I can't just sit here and think about all of my missed chances. This makes no sense and for once in my life I don't have a plan, I just know he has to know."

She started towards the door, wand in hand.

"Hermione, please don't go! He wouldn't want you to risk your life and as idiotic as he seems right now, he's pretty smart. He'll get home safely. I know how you feel. Ginny is always in my head and I have no idea what she's doing or how she is. We just have to hope, and Merlin's beard, do I hope that's enough."

Hermione let her bag drop to the floor and blankly stared at it, evidently thinking. Could she do it? Could she sit here, not knowing if Ron was okay? She knew Harry was right, she can't act irrational; it would be much too dangerous. Harry pulled her back to the chair and looked at her frantically, waiting for her to finally speak.

She sighed, "Okay, I'll stay."

Harry let out a small smile and gave her a hug.

"When'd you get so reasonable, anyhow? I used to be the one stopping you and Ron from going through with all your idiotic antics." She said, with a slight smile.

The tension lifted a bit around them, but, hearing Ron's name aloud, made something inside Hermione flip.

Harry shrugged and laughed a little, "I learned from the best."

Chapter 2

"Is everything ready to go?" Harry asked Hermione, drawing her attention away from the bag she was packing.

"Er, about, I just got a few last minute things to do." She replied hastily.

Hermione was just finishing up when she picked up the last item on the table; a photo from their third year. Mr. Weasley insisted on trying out a Muggle camera he had been researching before leaving for King's Cross Station that morning. Hermione smiled as she looked at each of her closest friends with all of their trunks around them, the Burrow as a backdrop. She was standing in the middle of Harry and Ron, her arms around them, smiling. Harry was laughing at Fred and George as they were making funny faces behind Ginny. In the background you could see Molly Weasley running in to scold the boys for picking on their sister. And finally, her eyes rested on Ron, who wasn't looking towards his father at all, but instead looking at her, with a wide-spread grin on his face. She slowly put the photo in the bag and closed it shut. Before turning towards Harry to continue their journey, she took a moment to regain her composure. She took a deep breath and turned around.

"Harry, if we leave, he won't know where to find us."

Harry looked at her sullenly, he knew there was nothing he could say or do to make her feel better. Hermione's eyes brightened as she pulled her scarf from around her neck. She jogged to the nearest tree and tightly knotted it around its trunk. Should he ever return, he would know that they had left the area and that they had moved on. He would know that they were okay.

Harry grabbed Hermione's hand and looked at her reassuringly. She nodded and refocused herself to where they were headed, that was an important factor in apparating.

As the world around them came into focus, her feet landed on soft snow. She turned to Harry to reassure herself that he was still there. As they walked down the snowy lane, she erased their snowy footprints behind them. They passed a church, the door slightly ajar. From the building you could hear the echoing voices of singing.

"Harry, listen… I think its Christmas Eve." Hermione whispered.

The people of Godric's Hollow all seemed to be inside the small building singing a melancholy Christmas carol. Hermione's heart ached to be home with her parents. What hurt even more, was knowing that they didn't even know that she existed. She knew she had to protect them. Pointing her wand at them and slowly pushing the incantation, "Obliviate" out of her mouth was the hardest thing she'd ever done. And now, on a day where she would be home doing all of the Muggle traditions her parents insisted on doing, she was in a strange village aimlessly searching for seemingly unreachable item.

A part of her ached even more for the holidays she had spent at the Burrow with the Weasley family and Harry. She would always arrive a day or two after Christmas to spend the last bit of her holiday with the family. Those days consisted of Hermione and Ginny hiding up in Ginny's room giggling about the boys. Fred and George were always up to some prank or new invention. Molly Weasley always had Harry and Ron running around and doing chores whenever she saw them, so they were often hiding somewhere out in the backyard practicing Quidditch or picking on the lawn gnomes. There were also nights where Harry, Hermione, and Ron would sit in front of the fireplace eating sweets and trading Chocolate Frog Cards. Ron always swore that the three of them would one day have their own. Often times they'd fall asleep on the couch or in front of the fire and wake up to Molly creeping downstairs to begin breakfast.

Hermione looked up to realize that while she was growing nostalgic and dreaming of her days spent with her family and friends, Harry had disappeared. She felt her body tighten with panic as she frantically searched the darkened sidewalks and trees for Harry. Her body relaxed with a sigh of relief as she saw him quietly calling her name, standing in front of a tombstone.

As Hermione shuffled through the gates and into the cemetery, the words etched into the stone came into view: "_In Loving Memory of James Potter ∙ Lily Potter" _Underneath the perfectly carved names and dates was written, "_The last enemy that will be destroyed is death."_ As they both read the words, Hermione heard Harry take a sharp intake of breath. She shifted her eyes to his face and saw that he had tears in his eyes. She felt guilty, for just moment ago, she had been aching to see her parents. They might not know who she was, but they were alive and well. Harry didn't even have that to hold on to. Hermione slipped her hand through his arm and rested her head on his shoulder with comfort. She wanted so badly to make her best friend feel better but she knew there was no way to take this kind of pain away.

Hermione felt as though this was somewhat of a private moment. She backed away and scanned the other graves looking at each of their names. She looked up from one with the name of "_Ignotus Peverall_" a name that sounded vaguely familiar to her, when she saw a figure standing in the lane near the church. She immediately felt panicked and looked at the figure watch them.

She quietly walked back to Harry and whispered, "Harry, there's someone watching us."

Harry immediately straightened up and slowly turned towards, what appeared to be, a very weary looking, old lady. As his eyes met the stranger, she began to turn and walk away from them. Harry looked at Hermione with bewilderment.

"I think I know who that is." He whispered.

Hermione looked at him questioningly but before she could even start to ask, he was already following the mysterious lady down the lane. She hurried behind him with warnings and protests but he continued on. She racked her memory for who this could be, who lived in Godric's Hollow that could give them answers. As they approached a weathered door and the lady slowly opened it, Hermione's memory clicked; Bathilda Bagshot, author of _A History of Magic_, one of Hermione's favorite books. Bathilda also knew Dumbledore and his family very well, and perhaps she could be their way to finding the Sword of Gryffindor, one of the few items that could destroy a horcrux.

As they walked into the house a rancid smell reached their noses. The cottage smelled rotten and decrepit. Hermione tried her hardest to not make a comment and continue on. The lady motioned towards the stairs and began to climb up them, with Harry hurriedly following behind. Hermione cautiously followed, her hand on her wand at all times. She knew that the sword, the answer to many of their problems, could be here. When they entered the room, Hermione glanced around; the room looked dirty and felt dusty.

"Can you tell us anything about the Sword of Gryffindor?" Harry asked the lady.

However, the lady hadn't spoken a word to them this whole time and was giving no sign that she was going to. Hermione felt threatened, something about this place felt wrong. Harry tried asking the lady more and more questions but she simply just looked at him.

Suddenly, Bathilda's skin began to crumple as if it was being pulled into her body. Her eyes were sinking down and the skin of her throat began to tear open. Hermione stepped back, alarmed. She quickly pointed her wand and saw Harry do the same. They didn't know how to react to what was unfolding before them. As the hole in her neck became wider, a large snake darted out of it, ripping the rest of the old lady in half. The skin of Bathilda fell back and the snake came into full view.

Hermione began viciously firing curse after curse at the quick moving animal but could not hit the target. She looked around the room trying to locate Harry, when she finally does, he's on the ground, writhing with pain.

"HE'S ALMOST HERE, HERMIONE. WE HAVE TO LEAVE NOW!"

Hermione knew what he was saying. She knew that he could feel the Dark Lord approaching them. She pointed her wand and focused in on the snake, which was slowly slithering towards Harry's stricken body.

"DEPULSO!" She yelled as jet of light hit the snake causing it to be thrown backwards into the wall.

She quickly grabbed Harry's hand and focused on a safe place, far, far away from Bathilda Bagshot's musty cottage.


End file.
